Our Opinion: A first step

Protest ends, but the work is not done

Two months ago, had you even heard of the Dream Defenders? Had you given much thought to the school-to-prison pipeline? Did you wonder whether some of your elected officials were having second thoughts about the Stand Your Ground law, which passed overwhelmingly in the Legislature in 2005?

After occupying the governor's office for 31 days, the Dream Defenders on Thursday ended their round-the-clock protest at the Capitol. But it would be unfair to say they surrendered or lost.

The protest was sparked by the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford. And certainly the Stand Your Ground law, which many have pointed to as the reason for Mr. Zimmerman's acquittal, was the focus of the protest.

The protesters demanded a special session of the Legislature to address the law. Though they did earn a face-to-face meeting with Gov. Rick Scott, and did get a number of Democratic legislators to join their call, a special session was a non-starter.

However, the Dream Defenders, a group formed last year in the wake of the shooting of Mr. Martin, addressed other issues in their short time in the spotlight.

A major one was the school-to-prison pipeline, the theory that zero-tolerance policies at schools help funnel children - especially minority children or those in poverty - into the criminal justice system, from which they never escape.

This issue also has been addressed by the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as some teachers unions that say standardized testing contributes to the problem.

The Dream Defenders also have vowed to get more young people registered to vote, and viewed the sit-in as a training ground for political activity.

Indeed, they attracted some of the all-stars of the civil-rights movement, including Jesse Jackson, Harry Belafonte and Julian Bond.

Some people were upset by the protest, by what it stood for and by what it cost. (The Florida Department of Law Enforcement sent daily reports on the estimated costs of the sit-in. The last report had it at almost $430,000 - or about 2 cents per Floridian.)

But it would be the rare protest that instantly accomplishes what it sets out to do.

The young Dream Defenders showed maturity and stamina in addressing what they saw as injustice. They, and we, still face many challenges. But their effort was not in vain.

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Our Opinion: A first step

Two months ago, had you even heard of the Dream Defenders? Had you given much thought to the school-to-prison pipeline? Did you wonder whether some of your elected officials were having second